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Adventure Games Thread 2021 - The Future of Fine Leather Jackets
- Thread starter Vampire On Titus
- Start date
- |OT|
Vampire On Titus
Member
I actually don't dislike the MI3 redesign, personally, but it's a funny meme.
Fuz
Banned
We're enemies now.
Mr Underhill
Member
I love Curse. And I giggled at that meme 
Then again, it's the first Monkey Island I've ever played, and I only played the first two much, much later, so I think that's a major (and probably the most important) factor that determines your favorite
I just also love the cartoon look, so it's no surprise that (Grim Fandango aside) my favorite LucasArts games look that way (Curse, DoTT, Sam & Max Hit the Road).
Then again, it's the first Monkey Island I've ever played, and I only played the first two much, much later, so I think that's a major (and probably the most important) factor that determines your favorite
I just also love the cartoon look, so it's no surprise that (Grim Fandango aside) my favorite LucasArts games look that way (Curse, DoTT, Sam & Max Hit the Road).
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Vampire On Titus
Member
Played some of an early access game called "Minotaur." It's western developed but very inspired by the style of Japanese adventures. The characters are kinda cliche and tropey in a way that made me groan on occasion, but it's otherwise well made and you can tell the writers really care about their world-building. I wish there was an explicit term for this, but the voice acting is very "amateur actor inspired by anime and is imitating what people sounded like in anime circa 00~08, rather than real human beings." It gives the whole thing a kind of "4Kids-ish" feel. Plus the protagonists VA tends to overemphasize mundane lines and there's a 8~10 yr old girl character who sounds like a chain-smoking 30 yr old.
Pacing wise it's actually pretty snappy, especially for a game that seems to take inspiration from Uchikoshi games. Puzzles are alright but not very inspired. At any rate I had a decent time solving them, so no major complaints. Well, except for the fact that it's got a streamlined inventory system where items are automatically used so long as you have them. This is shit in every game that does it but in Minotaur item-use is rarely the "meat" of the puzzle so it doesn't actually detract much. I do like that the main character has a special ability to see electricity in the environment, and there's promise of a different ability for each character.
One aspect I can praise without qualification is the environment art. Really fantastic pre-rendered backdrops with some extra touches painted over them. The world feels very authentic and lived in with some unique touches to it, I wish the feeling of them was carried over in the games tone and characters as well. But maybe more of that comes across as the game continues.
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The Near-Mage Kickstarter launched a few days ago and is already quite a success. There's a lot of additional information about the game, it's scope, it's design, etc. It all looks really cool so hopefully the campaign can hit all the goals Stuck In Attic want to make the best game possible.
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Almost My Floor came out yesterday. I haven't followed this one too closely but it looks pretty cool so it might be worth checking out.
Pacing wise it's actually pretty snappy, especially for a game that seems to take inspiration from Uchikoshi games. Puzzles are alright but not very inspired. At any rate I had a decent time solving them, so no major complaints. Well, except for the fact that it's got a streamlined inventory system where items are automatically used so long as you have them. This is shit in every game that does it but in Minotaur item-use is rarely the "meat" of the puzzle so it doesn't actually detract much. I do like that the main character has a special ability to see electricity in the environment, and there's promise of a different ability for each character.
One aspect I can praise without qualification is the environment art. Really fantastic pre-rendered backdrops with some extra touches painted over them. The world feels very authentic and lived in with some unique touches to it, I wish the feeling of them was carried over in the games tone and characters as well. But maybe more of that comes across as the game continues.
Minotaur is an adventure game set in a new world called The Universe of Seven. Here’s what we hope you’ll love about it:
Story and characters
Minotaur’s story is mainly focused on nine characters who come to find themselves trapped in their apartment building. Nod’s route, which is fully available in this Early Access release, follows a synthet named Nod Pikes as he attempts to escape and come to terms with his past – with help (kind of) from his lovely sharp-tongued AI assistant Ollie. Just like the game overall, Nod’s route has multiple endings. We call them: wicked, sad, very sad, brutal and shocking. Take your pick! Update: the next route has been released! Join Mentor-15, a teacher android model, on her journey of self-discovery.
A couple more notes about the story:
- All remaining routes are being added to the game for free.
- It’s fully voiced over in English by a great cast.
Gameplay
Minotaur has point and click mechanics at its core, so we’re trying to make the process of pointing and clicking as engaging as possible. You’ll be solving many different puzzles, fighting ancient creatures, and even climbing lots of stairs. Hm… That last one sounded much better in our heads. It’s actually one of our favorite parts!
Graphics
We’re spending a lot of time on making the world of Minotaur feel alive and immersive, and we think that graphics and animations play a huge part in that. Check out our Early Access trailer – everything in it has been captured directly from the game.
Music
It’s good. Really. We’ve listened to thousands of tracks, and picked the best of them.
World
We often say Minotaur is a cyberpunk game, but that’s just us trying to sell it. In truth, its world is more of a science fantasy setting, and we’re obsessed with having it figured out down to the tiniest detail. Why else would we make a whole website dedicated to its lore?
Are you not convinced yet? Syl, and that was us at our best. How about trying out the demo then? We’re sure that the beginning of the story will pique your interest. And if you get stuck, feel free to use a spoiler-free walkthrough on our website.
Hope to see you soon in Nova DC! ♡
The Near-Mage Kickstarter launched a few days ago and is already quite a success. There's a lot of additional information about the game, it's scope, it's design, etc. It all looks really cool so hopefully the campaign can hit all the goals Stuck In Attic want to make the best game possible.
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Fuz
Banned
Started The Great Ace Attorney Etcetera.
I am very, VERY impressed with how refined the options and customization is. Didn't expect that from a Japanese game (they're usually quite far behind in this regard). Complete keyboard rebind, keyboard shortcuts for everything, tons of graphical customization, spoken language selection, multiple save slots - everything. Excellent work.
Its got the usual Ace Attorney quirks and humour (which I really like), the usual slowness in getting to the point at the beginnings (LET ME PLAY GODDAMMIT - can't have a AA game without the usual excessive handholding and beating around the bush when you wanted to present your idea 30 minutes ago, I guess) and I'm pleased to see this time there's a log that you can go back to (I accidentaly skip text by mistake since I activated the "free skip" option because I always hated how slow text is in AA games).
The protagonist is... ok? I thought I would have liked him more, but I bloody hate how he darts his eyes left and right and how he raises his hand like a schoolboy. His friend is kind of smug/annoying. I might change my mind about this eventually, I just started it.
Animations are cool and all, but I still prefer 2D over this 3D which is a little cheap and low poly.
I am very, VERY impressed with how refined the options and customization is. Didn't expect that from a Japanese game (they're usually quite far behind in this regard). Complete keyboard rebind, keyboard shortcuts for everything, tons of graphical customization, spoken language selection, multiple save slots - everything. Excellent work.
Its got the usual Ace Attorney quirks and humour (which I really like), the usual slowness in getting to the point at the beginnings (LET ME PLAY GODDAMMIT - can't have a AA game without the usual excessive handholding and beating around the bush when you wanted to present your idea 30 minutes ago, I guess) and I'm pleased to see this time there's a log that you can go back to (I accidentaly skip text by mistake since I activated the "free skip" option because I always hated how slow text is in AA games).
The protagonist is... ok? I thought I would have liked him more, but I bloody hate how he darts his eyes left and right and how he raises his hand like a schoolboy. His friend is kind of smug/annoying. I might change my mind about this eventually, I just started it.
Animations are cool and all, but I still prefer 2D over this 3D which is a little cheap and low poly.
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Vampire On Titus
Member
So, after the Shinonome estate went up in flames we're once again tasked with scrounging up some leads on Iron mask. After following up on a comical amount of dead ends (that I almost assuredly could have avoided), our focus is narrowed to a particular lead that Gramps clued us onto. A suspicious dude he's seen around lately south of Akasaka. After running into him a few times ourselves we're finally introduced to Reika, a Chinese master of Feng Shui. Our interaction is brief, he's notably pleased that we're not discriminating against him and gives an ominous warning to stay away from the warehouse district, because there's a "demonic lair beyond human knowledge." Unfortunately for Reika that warning just considerably upped the chances of us immediately checking out the warehouse district.
Before we ever get there, though, Sho & Yuki bump into a Yakuza type on the street. Or, rather, Yuki does... Sho had noticed that Yuki seemed abnormally fatigued and in an attempt to disprove Sho's concerns, she sprinted ahead of him hap-haphazardly. The Yakuza uses her mistake as an opportunity for extortion, roughing Sho up in the process. That is, until our old buddy Kyoichiro Himuro (the Military officer investigating Black Masks' cult) happens upon the scene and puts a swift, albeit ethnically dubious, stop to the confrontation. Sho manages to emerge from the assault relatively unharmed, but afterward he notices Yuki's fatigue seems to have gotten a lot worse. She's not sweating quite profusely so they decide to cut the investigating short for the day and go home for some R&R. Before we leave Himuro says something rather cryptic, perhaps ominous.
The next morning it's back to the investigation grind. Gramps & Sho decide that Yuki should stay home for the time being and continue to get some rest, after some convincing Yuki begrudgingly agrees. We then get a call from Soyoko, over at the university, saying that new information has come up about your dad's research. I'm not sure if I mentioned this in a previous post, but early on in the game Soyoko and her father began going over Takuma's research and found out he was looking deeply into an ancient ceremonial Urn. This new info could be a lead, so Sho rushes over to the university and bumps into Hilda along the way. It turns out that it's a very good thing that Hilda came along because she can actually read the ancient language in Takuma's notes. Her translation isn't perfect but she can clearly make out that it's something to do with a ritual and sealing away a powerful enemy.
Returning home we chance upon Himuro again. He's establishing a curfew on and around our block because there's been a recent spat of assaults and murders in the area. Startled and drained from the days events, Sho retires to bed. Some time later he's awakened by a scream and rushes to find its source. Checking Yuki's room, she's nowhere to be found. Stepping outside to investigate further Sho finds the body of a recently deceased woman, laying in a pool of ground on the floor. It's not long after that a demonic looking Yuki appears and attacks Sho, clawing at his neck and strangling him. Yuki, who's fighting with herself internally and somewhat recognizing Sho, eventually lets him go and darts off. It's then that Iron Mask appears and thanks Sho for helping him. Iron Mask mask reveals that Yuki is being used as a vessel to resurrect the cult's demonic god. After that confrontation Sho goes looking for Yuki, eventually finding her no longer demon-ified back at their home. For a moment Sho thinks it's possible she doesn't remember, but she recognizes the scratches on Sho's neck and instantly realizes that the dreams of doing horrible things that she'd been having lately were true. Overcome with guilt Yuki attempts to run off but Sho restrains her and reassures her that he'll do whatever it takes to help her through this.
The next day the police call and request your presence down at the station to give witness testimony about the murder on your block. You also get advice from gramps that you should consult with Sayoko about Yuki's mental state. So we head off to the university to consult with Sayoko. She tells us about about a friend of hers, Dr.Narutaki, who's a leader in his field of "in-depth psychology/deep psychology." After some coaxing Yuki agrees to an evaluation with Narutaki. The doctor explains (privately to Sho) that Yuki has dual personality syndrome and that the unstable personality is slowly taking Yuki over. There's no established treatment for her condition but he recommends that Yuki be indefinitely hospitalized so her condition can be monitored and treated as best it can. It's agreed that's the best course of action, but remembering he has statement to make with the cops, Sho hurries off. Here we get a choice of whether to tell the story honestly or fudge the details to try and protect Yuki. Because the cop interviewing us is Onigawara, I decide to be honest. He actually knows about the cult & Iron mask and has seen monsters and supernatural shit with us before. Hopefully that doesn't come back to bite me.
Sho goes home exhausted after a stressful day. The next morning will turn out to be far worse, however, as Sho is awakened to an early morning phone call. It's Onigawara and he delivers the bad news that Yuki has been kidnapped from the hospital. From the description of the perpetrators, it's clearly Iron Mask and some fellow cult members that did it. After meeting Onigawara in person he produces the ransom note, addressed to Sho, that was left behind on Yuki's bed. It's an ultimatum demanding Sho bring the ceremonial urn that his dad hid to Aoyama Cemetary, if he wants Yuki delivered back home safely.
The rush to find the urn begins! I've actually played just a little bit past the point where I'll stop here, because this post has already gone on for quite a bit. It feels like I'm getting close/close-ish to the ending here so I'm excited to see how everything goes down. Hoping for a happy ending lol. Not gonna lie the scene where Yuki was overcome with guilt over having unwillingly murdered people was getting pretty emotional. Time to kick Iron Mask's iron teeth in and release that demon!
Bonus Memes:
Before we ever get there, though, Sho & Yuki bump into a Yakuza type on the street. Or, rather, Yuki does... Sho had noticed that Yuki seemed abnormally fatigued and in an attempt to disprove Sho's concerns, she sprinted ahead of him hap-haphazardly. The Yakuza uses her mistake as an opportunity for extortion, roughing Sho up in the process. That is, until our old buddy Kyoichiro Himuro (the Military officer investigating Black Masks' cult) happens upon the scene and puts a swift, albeit ethnically dubious, stop to the confrontation. Sho manages to emerge from the assault relatively unharmed, but afterward he notices Yuki's fatigue seems to have gotten a lot worse. She's not sweating quite profusely so they decide to cut the investigating short for the day and go home for some R&R. Before we leave Himuro says something rather cryptic, perhaps ominous.
The next morning it's back to the investigation grind. Gramps & Sho decide that Yuki should stay home for the time being and continue to get some rest, after some convincing Yuki begrudgingly agrees. We then get a call from Soyoko, over at the university, saying that new information has come up about your dad's research. I'm not sure if I mentioned this in a previous post, but early on in the game Soyoko and her father began going over Takuma's research and found out he was looking deeply into an ancient ceremonial Urn. This new info could be a lead, so Sho rushes over to the university and bumps into Hilda along the way. It turns out that it's a very good thing that Hilda came along because she can actually read the ancient language in Takuma's notes. Her translation isn't perfect but she can clearly make out that it's something to do with a ritual and sealing away a powerful enemy.
Returning home we chance upon Himuro again. He's establishing a curfew on and around our block because there's been a recent spat of assaults and murders in the area. Startled and drained from the days events, Sho retires to bed. Some time later he's awakened by a scream and rushes to find its source. Checking Yuki's room, she's nowhere to be found. Stepping outside to investigate further Sho finds the body of a recently deceased woman, laying in a pool of ground on the floor. It's not long after that a demonic looking Yuki appears and attacks Sho, clawing at his neck and strangling him. Yuki, who's fighting with herself internally and somewhat recognizing Sho, eventually lets him go and darts off. It's then that Iron Mask appears and thanks Sho for helping him. Iron Mask mask reveals that Yuki is being used as a vessel to resurrect the cult's demonic god. After that confrontation Sho goes looking for Yuki, eventually finding her no longer demon-ified back at their home. For a moment Sho thinks it's possible she doesn't remember, but she recognizes the scratches on Sho's neck and instantly realizes that the dreams of doing horrible things that she'd been having lately were true. Overcome with guilt Yuki attempts to run off but Sho restrains her and reassures her that he'll do whatever it takes to help her through this.
The next day the police call and request your presence down at the station to give witness testimony about the murder on your block. You also get advice from gramps that you should consult with Sayoko about Yuki's mental state. So we head off to the university to consult with Sayoko. She tells us about about a friend of hers, Dr.Narutaki, who's a leader in his field of "in-depth psychology/deep psychology." After some coaxing Yuki agrees to an evaluation with Narutaki. The doctor explains (privately to Sho) that Yuki has dual personality syndrome and that the unstable personality is slowly taking Yuki over. There's no established treatment for her condition but he recommends that Yuki be indefinitely hospitalized so her condition can be monitored and treated as best it can. It's agreed that's the best course of action, but remembering he has statement to make with the cops, Sho hurries off. Here we get a choice of whether to tell the story honestly or fudge the details to try and protect Yuki. Because the cop interviewing us is Onigawara, I decide to be honest. He actually knows about the cult & Iron mask and has seen monsters and supernatural shit with us before. Hopefully that doesn't come back to bite me.
Sho goes home exhausted after a stressful day. The next morning will turn out to be far worse, however, as Sho is awakened to an early morning phone call. It's Onigawara and he delivers the bad news that Yuki has been kidnapped from the hospital. From the description of the perpetrators, it's clearly Iron Mask and some fellow cult members that did it. After meeting Onigawara in person he produces the ransom note, addressed to Sho, that was left behind on Yuki's bed. It's an ultimatum demanding Sho bring the ceremonial urn that his dad hid to Aoyama Cemetary, if he wants Yuki delivered back home safely.
The rush to find the urn begins! I've actually played just a little bit past the point where I'll stop here, because this post has already gone on for quite a bit. It feels like I'm getting close/close-ish to the ending here so I'm excited to see how everything goes down. Hoping for a happy ending lol. Not gonna lie the scene where Yuki was overcome with guilt over having unwillingly murdered people was getting pretty emotional. Time to kick Iron Mask's iron teeth in and release that demon!
Bonus Memes:
Vampire On Titus
Member
Man, I loved the eye-darting. Naruhodou's nervousness is always *just* about to boil over before he slaps those cheeks and regains composure lol. You'll probably warm up to him over time, without saying too much, he does go through an arc and is less "schoolboy-ish" as things progress.
The game does suffer from some long-windedness, for sure. Post-AA5 the series has gotten worse with that, even though that game had a different director, it just seems like a trend that's spread to the whole series. The OG trilogy was still wordy, but comparatively terse put against GAA. Just helps that I was into the story and dialogue enough not to be bored of it. Also, there's parts that I selectively skip to avoid. Notably every dialogue sequence between you and your legal assistant after making an incorrect deduction, because 90% of the time it's a "hint" that basically just tells you the right answer. Although funnily enough the few times I was stumped enough to read those lines, they were no help at all lol.
Vampire On Titus
Member
It's not on GOG, but there's a blog called The Collection Chamber which is dedicated to getting old abandonware games up & running on modern machines, complete with easy to use installers. Basically a one man project that "GOG-ifiies" old games. You can get UFO there.
The Cockatrice
Member
really excited about this one.
SlimeGooGoo
Banned
.
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thanks looks kick ass bookmarked.
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The Cockatrice
Member
It's adventure mostly. Not a real rpg.
Fuz
Banned
Digging a litte into TGAA I've found a few funny things:
en.wikipedia.org
Natsume Sōseki - Wikipedia
Vampire On Titus
Member
It's awesome how well characterized his likeness. The pose from that picture hit different after I'd looked it up.Digging a litte into TGAA I've found a few funny things:
Natsume Sōseki - Wikipedia
Danjin44
The nicest person on this forum
I love him in this game, his animation so charming...Digging a litte into TGAA I've found a few funny things:
Natsume Sōseki - Wikipedia
SlimeGooGoo
Banned
.
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Fuz
Banned
Speaking of him, I wonder if in Japanese his little four-words outbursts are actually haikus. Any idea about that?
Vampire On Titus
Member
ThatStupidLion
Member
any impressions for Road 96?
Nico_D
Member
Downloaded the demo last night before going to bed. Reviews seem to be pretty fine about it.
Vampire On Titus
Member
Finished Tokyo Twilight Busters... what a ride! The game ended up being a lot more grandiose than I initially expected, in terms of the stakes of its conflict. I'm gonna get around to finishing my summary of the game when I've got the time, but there's a lot of content between my last post and the final moments, so I'll likely break it up into two or three posts.
In any case, it's a total classic in my book. A few rough edges, sure (second to last area, in particular, is too big w/ a lot of back-tracking), but an impressive game still to this day. I really hope at some point in the future there's a fan-translation because Tokyo Twilight Busters definitely deserves it and it's the kind of game adventure fans deserve to play. There's a lot of design ideas I'd love to see more devs take inspiration and run with. How the real-time mechanic enables a layer of risk/reward thinking interwoven with the normal puzzling is something you could get a lot more mileage out of. Won't say anything too plot-specific for people who've been reading along with my other posts, but I enjoyed how things wrapped up.
Best Japanese language adventure I've played so far. I'd give it an 8.8/10, great game.
Thinking about playing this but I'll likely hold off for now since 12 Minutes is just a day away from release. I did play the demo a few steam festivals back, though, and it was definitely interesting.
In any case, it's a total classic in my book. A few rough edges, sure (second to last area, in particular, is too big w/ a lot of back-tracking), but an impressive game still to this day. I really hope at some point in the future there's a fan-translation because Tokyo Twilight Busters definitely deserves it and it's the kind of game adventure fans deserve to play. There's a lot of design ideas I'd love to see more devs take inspiration and run with. How the real-time mechanic enables a layer of risk/reward thinking interwoven with the normal puzzling is something you could get a lot more mileage out of. Won't say anything too plot-specific for people who've been reading along with my other posts, but I enjoyed how things wrapped up.
Best Japanese language adventure I've played so far. I'd give it an 8.8/10, great game.
Thinking about playing this but I'll likely hold off for now since 12 Minutes is just a day away from release. I did play the demo a few steam festivals back, though, and it was definitely interesting.
The Cockatrice
Member
The writing in the demo was abysmal and cringe. Too bad because the gameplay gimmick/idea is pretty good, but poorly written political crap is a no-go in my books.
Vampire On Titus
Member
Reviews for 12 Minutes are rolling in today and it's looking good overall, 80% on metacritic. A lot of good scores from big outlets, notably a 9 on GameSpot, 8's on IGN, GameInformer and Destructoid. The biggest outlier is the 53 from PC Gamer, ouch. Skimming the reviews it seems like the biggest deciding factor is how well each reviewer handled the puzzles. Good reviews are praising them as clever and varied whereas the bad ones are calling them confusing and repetitious. Guess I'll find out tomorrow, but I'm expecting that this will be a good game.
First pure gameplay footage from Life is Strange True Colors, and having watched it, it feels like LiS returning to form. Deck Nine is doing an admirable job with the improved graphics/facial animations and such. Overall the game looks more expressive & better acted than previous entries. It's a simple sequence from early in the game, so unfortunately they don't show off how you're using the powers, but in terms of getting a feel for the characters it was pretty good.
My biggest problem with Deck Nine's previous game, Before The Storm, was how it handled its continuity to the first title and its tendency to dip into overtly soap opera-ish melodrama that felt completely unearned. My hope is that they'll fare better with a non-episodic game and a story that's mostly un-tethered to previous LiS entries. Looks promising so far, but we'll see.
First pure gameplay footage from Life is Strange True Colors, and having watched it, it feels like LiS returning to form. Deck Nine is doing an admirable job with the improved graphics/facial animations and such. Overall the game looks more expressive & better acted than previous entries. It's a simple sequence from early in the game, so unfortunately they don't show off how you're using the powers, but in terms of getting a feel for the characters it was pretty good.
My biggest problem with Deck Nine's previous game, Before The Storm, was how it handled its continuity to the first title and its tendency to dip into overtly soap opera-ish melodrama that felt completely unearned. My hope is that they'll fare better with a non-episodic game and a story that's mostly un-tethered to previous LiS entries. Looks promising so far, but we'll see.
Vampire On Titus
Member
New trailer for Syberia: The World Before, it's coming out December 10th.
Vampire On Titus
Member
Probably better than it was right at launch. There's still glitches and issues, though, yeah.
Vampire On Titus
Member
Hadn't been on my radar previously but the standalone version of a popular Skyrim mod "The Forgotten City" is out. It's apparently a mystery adventure game, which the devs are especially careful to spell out for people expecting an Skyrim style action RPG, and it's gotten a lot of positive response. Still don't know too much about it, but hey, it might be cool.
Vampire On Titus
Member
Played some games over the last week or so. First one was 12 Minutes, which I've already talked about in other threads, but put briefly: it's a solid & interesting game. There are some narrative drawbacks to the level of agency you're given, as well as the restraints of having to fit genuine characterization within recurring 12 Minute time loops. It effects the early game especially. Despite that, I enjoyed working through the mystery and really enjoyed the puzzle solving. There's tedium to repeatedly setting up pre-conditions to try out new ideas, but not as much as some reviews claim. It's likely that some people missed things like walking out the door to instantly restart the loop or sleeping to auto advance it. Overall, I liked it but it wasn't mind blowing, I'd give it a 7/10. Worth playing for its unique qualities, probably a stretch at 25 dollars for a 5~6 hour game.
I also played Road 96, which is a "procedurally generated" C&C adventure game. What does that mean? Well, basically it means that the game consists of several 20~30 minute story segments that can get mixed around in (possibly?) any order. These story segments are shuffled across various chapters (6 or 7 IIRC) and each one begins with you picking a new runaway teen to play as. The teens trying to escape the country of Petria by way of the northern border. The choices you make will effect what characters you run into, and ultimately whether or not you survive your cross-country journey. There are various ways to get caught, or die, before even making it to the border.
Road 96 has a lot of charm and really fun, over-the-top, characters. Unravelling their personal mysteries as you get to know them better is a blast, and it's impressive how the game manages to still feel like a coherent narrative with the randomized element. 96 is also an unabashedly political game, written from the perspective of progressive politics. Politically speaking, it's pretty shallow. The developers are trying to make an allegorical criticism of the Trump presidency but the circumstances of their surface level narrative don't jive with the deeper message they're trying to convey. The nature of the immigration depicted is too fundamentally different to map on to contemporary America meaningfully, they try to have their cake & eat it too admitting far left extremists groups are violent but also ultimately innocent/justified, Near as I can tell the only reason teens are the focus of the narrative is to evoke the "kids in cages" controversy. All I really got from the game, as far as a political message, is that Tyrek (the Trump stand-in) does bad things and the developers think Trump was bad. Which, going on a year removed from Trump's time in office, feels increasingly irrelevant more than anything.
The thing is, for me at least, it was extremely easy to disregard the deeper allegorical narrative they were (sloppily) attempting and engage mostly just with the 1st level road-trip survival story with a cast of colorful characters & personal drama. A wanted man who's in love with a cop, a psycho cabbie seeking revenge, a pair of eccentric masked thieves trying to save their favorite TV star, and so on. These characters their subplots comprise the bulk of playing Road 96 and they're all really well done. Actually, the fact that I found the allegory so shallow just helped me ignore it that much more. Road 96's variety of light puzzling, mini games & choices combined with the meta strategy of surviving to the border makes for satisfying gameplay as well. There's a lot design that modern adventure game developers can take and run with. It wound up being one of my favorite narrative adventures in recent memory and I'd give it an 8/10.
The last game I played was Forgotten City, which is yet another time loop adventure game. Although, the loop in this game is far longer than 12 minutes. You play as some guy who washes up a river near ancient ruins, after being instructed to check them out by a mysterious woman, you quickly find yourself back in time. Where back in time? Some mysterious city deep within a mountain, where the inhabitants must all follow a "Golden Rule" which states that if any one of them commits so much as a single sin, they all face the collective punishment of death. You soon set upon uncovering a series of mysteries and discover the nature of the mysterious city, its gods and the golden rule itself.
The Forgotten City is a really well written game, although the city is small, it amounts to a pretty large cast as you meet all 25 of its inhabitants. They're all memorable and fun to interact with. Most of the problem solving consists of you finding clever ways to manipulate the time loop to your advantage, using items or information you've gathered in a previous loop to alter the outcome of events. It's pretty simple stuff, but fun enough to keep you motivated. The setting & world-building is where the game shone brightest for me. Forgotten City intelligently draws upon ancient history, with a bevy of philosophical arguments, ancient myths and famous quotations, but does so in a way that never feels overbearing.
It's hard to get into some of the most compelling details without spoilers, but suffice it to say, I really loved the Forgotten City. It's like an awesome, explorable, episode of the Twilight Zone. Intrigue, absurdity, morality and it's a fun game to boot. I'd rate it at an 8.5/10.
I also played Road 96, which is a "procedurally generated" C&C adventure game. What does that mean? Well, basically it means that the game consists of several 20~30 minute story segments that can get mixed around in (possibly?) any order. These story segments are shuffled across various chapters (6 or 7 IIRC) and each one begins with you picking a new runaway teen to play as. The teens trying to escape the country of Petria by way of the northern border. The choices you make will effect what characters you run into, and ultimately whether or not you survive your cross-country journey. There are various ways to get caught, or die, before even making it to the border.
Road 96 has a lot of charm and really fun, over-the-top, characters. Unravelling their personal mysteries as you get to know them better is a blast, and it's impressive how the game manages to still feel like a coherent narrative with the randomized element. 96 is also an unabashedly political game, written from the perspective of progressive politics. Politically speaking, it's pretty shallow. The developers are trying to make an allegorical criticism of the Trump presidency but the circumstances of their surface level narrative don't jive with the deeper message they're trying to convey. The nature of the immigration depicted is too fundamentally different to map on to contemporary America meaningfully, they try to have their cake & eat it too admitting far left extremists groups are violent but also ultimately innocent/justified, Near as I can tell the only reason teens are the focus of the narrative is to evoke the "kids in cages" controversy. All I really got from the game, as far as a political message, is that Tyrek (the Trump stand-in) does bad things and the developers think Trump was bad. Which, going on a year removed from Trump's time in office, feels increasingly irrelevant more than anything.
The thing is, for me at least, it was extremely easy to disregard the deeper allegorical narrative they were (sloppily) attempting and engage mostly just with the 1st level road-trip survival story with a cast of colorful characters & personal drama. A wanted man who's in love with a cop, a psycho cabbie seeking revenge, a pair of eccentric masked thieves trying to save their favorite TV star, and so on. These characters their subplots comprise the bulk of playing Road 96 and they're all really well done. Actually, the fact that I found the allegory so shallow just helped me ignore it that much more. Road 96's variety of light puzzling, mini games & choices combined with the meta strategy of surviving to the border makes for satisfying gameplay as well. There's a lot design that modern adventure game developers can take and run with. It wound up being one of my favorite narrative adventures in recent memory and I'd give it an 8/10.
The last game I played was Forgotten City, which is yet another time loop adventure game. Although, the loop in this game is far longer than 12 minutes. You play as some guy who washes up a river near ancient ruins, after being instructed to check them out by a mysterious woman, you quickly find yourself back in time. Where back in time? Some mysterious city deep within a mountain, where the inhabitants must all follow a "Golden Rule" which states that if any one of them commits so much as a single sin, they all face the collective punishment of death. You soon set upon uncovering a series of mysteries and discover the nature of the mysterious city, its gods and the golden rule itself.
The Forgotten City is a really well written game, although the city is small, it amounts to a pretty large cast as you meet all 25 of its inhabitants. They're all memorable and fun to interact with. Most of the problem solving consists of you finding clever ways to manipulate the time loop to your advantage, using items or information you've gathered in a previous loop to alter the outcome of events. It's pretty simple stuff, but fun enough to keep you motivated. The setting & world-building is where the game shone brightest for me. Forgotten City intelligently draws upon ancient history, with a bevy of philosophical arguments, ancient myths and famous quotations, but does so in a way that never feels overbearing.
It's hard to get into some of the most compelling details without spoilers, but suffice it to say, I really loved the Forgotten City. It's like an awesome, explorable, episode of the Twilight Zone. Intrigue, absurdity, morality and it's a fun game to boot. I'd rate it at an 8.5/10.
Fuz
Banned
Pass.
12 minutes sounds kind of interesting, but at the same time kind of boring. Definitely doesn't resonate with me. Surprised at Forgotten City, I might give it a try after I finish Ace Attorney and Psychonauts 2.
Vampire On Titus
Member
Behind The Frame just released, it's getting really positive reception from Steam reviews but it's worth noting most players clock it at around 1 hour, two max. Seems worth it if you enjoy short games, though. I'll probably give it a go after I'm done with Psychonauts 2 (which is incredible).
GreenAlien
Member
Behind the Frame: Simple puzzles, forgettable story, the line "She is such a strong, independent woman" was dropped close to the beginning, making me dislike the game from the get go... I also experienced some bugs like overlapping subtitles.
The small animated sequences are nice. Halfway through it feels like the story might pick up as mysterious music sets the tone for an eerie atmosphere, but ultimately not a lot happens and it's over.
Not worth the asking price.
The small animated sequences are nice. Halfway through it feels like the story might pick up as mysterious music sets the tone for an eerie atmosphere, but ultimately not a lot happens and it's over.
Not worth the asking price.
Vampire On Titus
Member
Played Behind The Frame quickly this morning. I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. It's a quaint and bittersweet love story, so you have to be in the mood for that kind of thing. Reminded me of some animated short films I really enjoy. The strong woman line really wasn't a big deal to me. It's an off hand item line where the main character is fondly remembering her mom. As an artist myself, I found the games love for art really endearing and a cool framing device for a simple story.
I'd say it's worth checking out if you watch the trailer and really like its aesthetic. Just not for 10 dollars in a world where games like Primordia & Blackwell Epiphany are the same price. If it's ever on sale for 5 or less, that'd be more reasonable.
I'd say it's worth checking out if you watch the trailer and really like its aesthetic. Just not for 10 dollars in a world where games like Primordia & Blackwell Epiphany are the same price. If it's ever on sale for 5 or less, that'd be more reasonable.
Vampire On Titus
Member
Opus Echos of Starsong out now and Lake coming later today:
Danjin44
The nicest person on this forum
We might see something from AI Somnium Files nirvana in upcoming TGS.
Vampire On Titus
Member
Started playing Opus Echo of Starsong, didnt get very far since I was playing right before I had to go out but I can confirm the game is absolutely gorgeous.
Story seems interesting too, as far as my super early impressions.
Niiiiiice. Minimum I hope we get some Mizuki & Date banter, might be a bit early for some Somnium gameplay deets but I can dream.
Story seems interesting too, as far as my super early impressions.
Niiiiiice. Minimum I hope we get some Mizuki & Date banter, might be a bit early for some Somnium gameplay deets but I can dream.
Vampire On Titus
Member
Finished playing Opus: Echo of Starsong and I think it's a great game. A great game that could've been a masterpiece had the design been a little bit stronger. Still, It's compelled me to play through the rest of the series and I'm definitely checking for other SIGONO releases in the future.
It's a Space Opera with rich, yet accessible, lore which is apparently based in eastern mythology but I'll admit I'm not knowledgeable enough to comprehend the parallels. The biggest draw, aside from EoS' gorgeous visuals, is the instantly likable cast of characters and the script's exceptional ability to wring pathos from their struggles and tragic backstories. Some of the harrowing flashbacks reminded me of early Naruto, and that's high praise as far as I'm concerned. The game's a total tear-jerker and a lot of the ways it builds to emotion are tried and true but the execution is fantastic.
(Each place you visit has tidbits of interesting lore. Sometimes you're attacked in your travels and must choose what to do.)
There's also a light layer of resource management and risk/reward to the space travel, which makes zipping around the map a bit more fun. I actually enjoyed that part a lot. The only aspect where the game is a let down is that the puzzles are very basic. They're mostly centered around "tuning" Starsongs to open gates or make lumen flow to cause a reaction. You basically just manipulate a radial pattern until you hear the song resonate loudly, then press A. You have to pick the right Starsong, but it's almost always the last one you collected. To the point where it's weird the game even lets you choose. There's a couple other puzzles as well, they mix up the formula here & there with time limits and other gimmicks, but for the most part the puzzles are repetitive and uninteresting.
(There are some non-Starsong based puzzles but they're also very basic.)
If it at least had the variety & creativity of something like Jenny LeClue (another casual adventure game with a similar approach) this really could be one of my all-time favorites. As it stands, I still think it's a great game, but it's also a shame thinking about how much better it could've been. I'd give it an 8/10.
It's a Space Opera with rich, yet accessible, lore which is apparently based in eastern mythology but I'll admit I'm not knowledgeable enough to comprehend the parallels. The biggest draw, aside from EoS' gorgeous visuals, is the instantly likable cast of characters and the script's exceptional ability to wring pathos from their struggles and tragic backstories. Some of the harrowing flashbacks reminded me of early Naruto, and that's high praise as far as I'm concerned. The game's a total tear-jerker and a lot of the ways it builds to emotion are tried and true but the execution is fantastic.
(Each place you visit has tidbits of interesting lore. Sometimes you're attacked in your travels and must choose what to do.)
There's also a light layer of resource management and risk/reward to the space travel, which makes zipping around the map a bit more fun. I actually enjoyed that part a lot. The only aspect where the game is a let down is that the puzzles are very basic. They're mostly centered around "tuning" Starsongs to open gates or make lumen flow to cause a reaction. You basically just manipulate a radial pattern until you hear the song resonate loudly, then press A. You have to pick the right Starsong, but it's almost always the last one you collected. To the point where it's weird the game even lets you choose. There's a couple other puzzles as well, they mix up the formula here & there with time limits and other gimmicks, but for the most part the puzzles are repetitive and uninteresting.
(There are some non-Starsong based puzzles but they're also very basic.)
If it at least had the variety & creativity of something like Jenny LeClue (another casual adventure game with a similar approach) this really could be one of my all-time favorites. As it stands, I still think it's a great game, but it's also a shame thinking about how much better it could've been. I'd give it an 8/10.
Vampire On Titus
Member
New trailer and release date announced for Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View. This time we get to see some of the puzzle & mystery solving aspects. Looks pretty cool for the brief showing, plus the eerie atmosphere is very effective IMO.
Vampire On Titus
Member
More gameplay for Stray from late last month, this video has gone pretty viral on different channels, but here it is in case you missed it. The game continues to look very good.
Beyond the Edge of Owlsgard was recently announced and looks like a very charming & polished. Always cool to see an old-school 9 verb game look this good.
Fuz
Banned
Danjin44
The nicest person on this forum
I'm looking forward in both Stray and AI Somnium Files nirvana in next year....I really hope we get new trailer for AI Somnium Files soon.
Vampire On Titus
Member
The Rewinder is a 2D puzzle adventure game inspired by traditional Chinese folklore.
The game uses pixel art to mimic the aesthetics of Chinese ink paintings. Players will get to meet mythological figures such as the Spirit Wardens, the Ox-head and Horse-face Guardians of the Beyond, and the Tudi Gong (Keeper of the Land).
The player takes on the role of Yun, a "rewinder" who has the ability to enter people's memories and influence their actions. By utilizing "senses" and swaying others' "intentions", he can change history.
At the request of the Spirit Wardens, Yun goes to a small village to investigate why a spirit couldn't be reincarnated. The once thriving village has been deserted and filled with resentful spirits, leaving one woman alone in the teahouse. Who's she waiting for? Where did all the other villagers go? What really happened seven years ago?
The Rewinder dropped a few days ago. Seems cool, it's got some nicely stylistic pixel-art and seems like it's trying to incorporate some neat powers/mechanics into the mix. It's also surprisingly popular with over 1k reviews in just a few days on Steam, 97% positive. For a point of reference it's nearly matched Unavowed's review count in just a few days, so impressive numbers for an indie adv game. Not familiar with the dev, MistyMountainStudio, but props to them.
kingpotato
Ask me about my Stream Deck
Just now discovered this thread. Amazing. I'm getting a PC later this year and will have a lot of catching up to do! Nice work
Vampire On Titus
Vampire On Titus
kingpotato
Ask me about my Stream Deck
I've been skimming this thread and was wondering if there was consensus on the best adventure games for switch? I was kind of looking at that detective club game(s)... Not sure if there is something much better to check out first.
Danjin44
The nicest person on this forum
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Vampire On Titus
Member
Danjin44
's suggestions are very good (I've actually been thinking about replaying Somnium Files soon) Here are some more worth checking out:
Unavowed
2064: Read Only Memories - Integral
Anna's Quest
Buried Stars
Red Strings Club
Heaven's Vault
Tangle Tower
Syberia 1 & 2
kingpotato
Ask me about my Stream Deck
Whoa, Syberia 1&2 are only $2 together on switch right now! I guess I found a starting place. Thanks
Vampire On Titus
and
Danjin44
Vampire On Titus
and
Danjin44
Vampire On Titus
Member
New trailer & gameplay demo out for The BookWalker, really love the look of this game. Gonna check the demo out soon.